A demolition crew removes a section of westbound lanes on the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the deconstruction work is scheduled to be completed by late 2016 less

A demolition crew removes a section of westbound lanes on the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the deconstruction work is scheduled to be ... more

A boat heads under the retired eastern span of the Bay Bridge as demolition work begins above.

A boat heads under the retired eastern span of the Bay Bridge as demolition work begins above.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

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Demolition work begins on the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013, which was taken out of service after the new span (right) opened to traffic during the Labor Day weekend. If all goes as planned, the deconstruction work is scheduled to be completed by late 2016. less

Demolition work begins on the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013, which was taken out of service after the new span (right) opened to traffic during the Labor Day ... more

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

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Robert Ikenberry, a representative from the joint venture group dismantling the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge, climbs down from the top of the structure after viewing the demolition work from above in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the deconstruction work is scheduled to be completed by late 2016. less

Robert Ikenberry, a representative from the joint venture group dismantling the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge, climbs down from the top of the structure after viewing the demolition work from above in ... more

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

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Rusty rebar is exposed in a pothole on the upper deck near a demolition crew dismantling a section of the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge in 2013.

Rusty rebar is exposed in a pothole on the upper deck near a demolition crew dismantling a section of the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge in 2013.

Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

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Robert Ikenberry, a representative from the joint venture group dismantling the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge, climbs down from the top of the structure after viewing the demolition work from above in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the deconstruction work is scheduled to be completed by late 2016. less

Robert Ikenberry, a representative from the joint venture group dismantling the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge, climbs down from the top of the structure after viewing the demolition work from above in ... more

Westbound traffic flows across the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge while a demolition crew begins dismantling the old one in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the deconstruction work is scheduled to be completed by late 2016 less

Westbound traffic flows across the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge while a demolition crew begins dismantling the old one in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the ... more

Demolition work begins on the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the deconstruction work is scheduled to be completed by late 2016

Demolition work begins on the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the deconstruction work is scheduled to be completed by late 2016

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

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Rusty rebar is exposed in a pothole on the upper deck near a demolition crew dismantling a section of the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the deconstruction work is scheduled to be completed by late 2016. less

Rusty rebar is exposed in a pothole on the upper deck near a demolition crew dismantling a section of the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, ... more

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

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A red beacon still blinks on top of the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge where a demolition crew began dismantling the structure in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the deconstruction work is scheduled to be completed by late 2016. less

A red beacon still blinks on top of the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge where a demolition crew began dismantling the structure in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the ... more

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

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A demolition crew (right) dismantles a section of the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the deconstruction work is scheduled to be completed by late 2016 less

A demolition crew (right) dismantles a section of the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the deconstruction work is scheduled to be ... more

Heavy machinery removes a section of roadway as demolition work begins on the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the deconstruction work is scheduled to be completed by late 2016

Heavy machinery removes a section of roadway as demolition work begins on the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the deconstruction work is

Wiring from a lamppost is exposed on the top deck near a demolition crew dismantling a section of the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the deconstruction work is scheduled to be completed by late 2016 less

Wiring from a lamppost is exposed on the top deck near a demolition crew dismantling a section of the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the ... more

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

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A demolition crew dismantles a section of the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the deconstruction work is scheduled to be completed by late 2016 less

A demolition crew dismantles a section of the old eastern span of the Bay Bridge in Oakland, Calif. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013. If all goes as planned, the deconstruction work is scheduled to be completed by ... more

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

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Demolition crews start chipping away at old Bay Bridge

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The beginning of the end arrived Tuesday for the recently retired east span of the Bay Bridge, which will slowly disappear from its place of prominence over the next three years.

Demolition crews, who had been preparing the 77-year-old bridge for its departure since its shiny new replacement arrived in September, began ripping out the upper road deck of the cantilever section as light rain yielded to sunshine Tuesday morning. The day, incidentally, was the anniversary of the bridge's opening.

Giant red jackhammers relentlessly pounded away at the pavement, occasionally causing the old steel span to shudder and shake. Trucks hauled away the debris to a remote site, where it will be beaten into smaller chunks, the steel rebar removed so the concrete can be recycled.

"Today, the major demolition starts," said Andrew Gordon, a Bay Bridge spokesman.

The retired span won't disappear from the bay quickly, and commuters, bike riders and runners using the new east span will be able to watch its vanishing act. But beginning early next year, less and less of it will be visible. Demolition crews plan to dismantle the gray steel span piece by piece in roughly the reverse order of how it was assembled in the mid-1930s.

Removing the old east span will cost about $281 million, which is included in the $6.4 billion price tag for the new bridge.

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The first phase of demolition, scheduled to take six weeks, will remove 1,400 feet of the upper deck of the 2,420-foot-long cantilever section, the taller part of the bridge that sits just east of the infamous S-curve. Workers for California Engineering Contractors and Silverado Construction will remove 2,125 tons of concrete, 374 tons of rebar and 1,300 tons of steel deck supports that have been holding up the roadway since 1936.

Once that's done, they'll slice the cantilever section in two - right down the middle - and begin dismantling the steel pieces. They'll take apart the upper deck first, lowering the pieces to the bottom deck for removal. Then the lower deck will be deconstructed.

Crews will work in the westward direction first, taking apart the cantilever section west of where it will be split, then demolishing the S-curve. Once those pieces are removed, probably in early 2015, workers can complete the bike and pedestrian path, connecting it to Yerba Buena Island in time for summer.

Next, demolition workers will head east, taking apart the rest of the cantilever section. The 504-foot-long truss spans - the section that descends from the cantilever - will go next, followed by the 288-foot truss spans, known as the incline section, where a piece of roadway collapsed during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

Last, crews will remove the piers and pilings to the waterline, then rip out the foundations down to the mud line, Gordon said. Material below the bay floor may remain.

That's the general sequence, but as work progresses, it will take place simultaneously on different sections, he said.

"While they're working on the eastern half of the cantilever, there could be crews working on the foundations underwater," Gordon said.

All told, demolition crews will remove 58,209 tons of steel and 245,470 tons of concrete that make up the 1.97-mile eastern span. The contractors will determine where the crushed and twisted remains of the bridge end up, Gordon said. Most will probably be either recycled or reused. Some pieces may be saved for a park planned at the eastern end of the bridge so people have something from the old span to remember.

"If we stay on schedule, it will all be gone by the end of 2016," Gordon said.